Peter Pan and Wendy, 1921

Mabel Lucie Attwell

1879–1964

 

Born in London, Mabel Lucie Attwell studied at both the Regent School of Art and Heatherley’s School of Art. She began her professional career at sixteen when she submitted several drawings to an artist’s agency in London. Her early career concentrated on magazine work, but by 1900, she had begun to illustrate books. From 1905 to 1913, she illustrated ten books for W. & R. Chambers. One of her most successful books was Alice in Wonderland in 1910 for Raphael Tuck, for whom she also illustrated Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales (1914), and Charles Kingsley’s The Water Babies (1916), among others. J. M. Barrie was an admirer of her work, and personally asked her to illustrate Hodder & Stoughton’s gift edition of his Peter Pan and Wendy in 1921.

Like many female illustrators, Attwell specialized in drawing children. Her chubby-cheeked toddlers proved extraordinarily popular with the public and she became a household name in the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s. In addition to books and magazines, Attwell designed postcards and greeting cards for Valentine & Sons as well as plaques, posters, calendars, tea sets, dolls, figurines, and dozens of other products.

“The Tinder-Box,” Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales, 1914

“The Little Mermaid,” Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales, 1914

“The Little Match Girl,” Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales, 1914

The home in the ground

Peter Pan and Wendy, 1921

The rabbit started violently

Alice in Wonderland, 1910

The mock turtle’s story

Alice in Wonderland, 1910

The pig baby

Alice in Wonderland, 1910

MABEL LUCIE ATTWELL